What's in a hometown? Half of local police chiefs live elsewhere

Sunday

May 26, 2013 at 12:01 AMMay 26, 2013 at 8:56 PM

If you live within a city in Volusia and Flagler counties, there's about a 50-50 chance the commander of the police officers who serve and protect your community doesn't actually live in your community.

KATIE KUSTURASTAFF WRITER

If you live within a city in Volusia and Flagler counties, there's about a 50-50 chance the commander of the police officers who serve and protect your community doesn't actually live in your community.

With the New Smyrna Beach Police Department's new chief moving to the city's North Beach neighborhood, the number of police chiefs in Volusia and Flagler counties who live in the city they serve is now about equal to the number who don't.

A News-Journal analysis through interviews, records searches and an examination of local municipal policies shows that eight police chiefs live outside of their cities. While some live outside city limits but close to where their charges keep the peace, some have a greater commute, including Edgewater's chief, who has about a 13-mile drive from home to work.

New Smyrna's incoming chief, who starts his new job this week, said living in the city he worked for was a requirement where he served as the director of Rochester, N.Y.'s Office of Public Integrity.

“I think, philosophically, it sends a good message,” George Markert said. “From a practical standpoint, this is a profession, and (police chiefs) are professionals.”

Most cities in Volusia and Flagler counties require only their city managers to reside in the city, which is New Smyrna's rule. Ormond Beach, Port Orange, Edgewater, Orange City, DeLand and Flagler Beach also share that rule.

The cities of South Daytona, Daytona Beach Shores, Ponce Inlet and Lake Helen do not require any of their city employees to reside in the city. The policies of Daytona Beach, Holly Hill and Bunnell are a little different.

In Daytona Beach, employees who earn more than $100,000 must establish residency in Daytona Beach within two years of their hire date, said the city's public information officer, Susan Cerbone.

In Holly Hill, all city employees must live within 30 miles of the city, City Manager Jim McCroskey said.

Bunnell City Manager Armando Martinez said the city he runs requires its police chief to live close enough to respond to incidents quickly.

Though Bunnell Police Chief Jeff Hoffman lives in Palm Coast, he is less than one mile from Bunnell's city limits.

Incoming New Smyrna Beach Chief Markert said living in the city he'll be serving will enable him to speak to the city's issues with more credibility.

“My goal by living in the city is to become part of it,” Markert said.

Though Markert said he feels living in the city will help him do his job better, he said where someone lays their head at night doesn't determine how good they are at their job.

South Daytona's city manager said when cities are looking at hiring a new city official, such as a police chief, asking if where they live would adversely affect their productivity needs to be one of the first questions.

Joe Yarbrough said sometimes ensuring that a city's official lives in the city they work for serves appearance more than productivity.

“It's very possible that you could be closer to your office while living in a different city,” he said. “It's more important for a manager to be interested in the qualifications and productivity than that person living exactly in the corporate limits.”

But Yarbrough said he doesn't know why someone wouldn't want to live in the city they hope to work for.

His acting chief, Ron Wright, has lived in South Daytona since 1968.

Holly Hill's police chief has an Ormond Beach address, but resides close to his department's headquarters.

“I am literally five minutes from my office,” Chief Mark Barker said.

He said his loyalty to Holly Hill has never been questioned because of his address, and he “thinks about the safety and security of the citizens every waking moment.”

“The department has been my life. The community has been my life,” Barker said.

He said in Volusia County, it's sometimes difficult to tell where one community ends and another begins because it's not a major metropolitan area.

Residency rules are something that have bothered longtime Daytona Beach resident Don Kane for years.

“If you're truly dedicated to the city, then you should live here,” said Kane, 74.

In 2011, Kane sued his city, and lost, because he felt all top employees should live within Daytona Beach's city limits, especially when they make the biggest salaries, which, in turn, affects tax collections.

“I don't think they feel as dedicated if it's not their community,” Kane said. “I don't care how you cut it up.”

Edgewater's police chief, Dave Arcieri, said he couldn't have predicted when he moved to Port Orange in 1998 that he would become a police chief almost 15 years later.

He said his commute is about 20 minutes, but it doesn't affect his job.

“As the chief, I don't really respond to anything quickly,” said Arcieri, explaining that his police officers usually have scenes handled before he gets to them, if they require his presence.

“Being physically on scene is not as important as it used to be with the advent of cellphones,” said Edgewater's city manager, Tracey Barlow.

Barlow said, when necessary, officers can send pictures and other information from a scene via text message to the chief.

Arcieri said it's financially not the right time to try and relocate, and he would like to wait until his wife retires, if possible, because moving would make her commute nearly an hour long.

He said he doesn't think Edgewater residents would have a problem with where he lives because it was their vote that decided the city manager is the only employee who should be required to live within the city limits.

“I would have no problem living in Edgewater,” he said.

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